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Rhodiola Rosea L.: A Critical Review on Biology, Medicinal Properties and Pharmacological
Manifestations
D. Talukdar*
Department of Botany, R.P.M. College, Uttarpara, Hooghly 712 258, West Bengal, India.
ARTICLE
DETAILS
Article history:
Received 05 September 2015
Accepted 27 September 2015
Available online 29 September 2015
Keywords:
Rhodiola Rosea
Adaptogen
Ethnomedicine
Rosavin Complex
Salidroside
ABSTRACT
Potential of the medicinal plant Rhodiola rosea belonging to the angiosperm family Crassulaceae, has
been used by mankind since time immemorial. However, scientific research documentation of this
medicinal plant is gradually growing in literature throughout the world. R. rosea plant is known for its
astonishing capacity in rejuvenation of life, cellular longevity, antioxidant capacity, and cardioprotective as well as neuroprotective nature; and over all, its central role as a powerful adaptogen,
which is now being commercially exploited to prevent fatigues, illness, and even death in harsh climatic
conditions. Its protective role in Cognitive Biology is pharmacologically proved. In this review paper,
biology of the plant, medicinal properties, and pharmacological formulations have been structured. The
cellular and molecular mechanisms, metabolic cross-talk, and regulation of gene expressions by plant
formulations during prevention of human sufferings have also been reviewed.
1. Introduction
Rhodiola rosea L. (R. rosea L. synonym:- Sedum Rhodiola DC.) also
known as golden root, rose root, or king's crown in the angiosperm dicot
family Crassulaceae, is a perennial terrestrial flowering plant with a height
of 2.0 to 15.7 inches, fleshy, and has several stems growing from a short,
scaly rootstock. Leaves are simple, arranged alternately. Flowers are
radially symmetrical showing four sepals and four petals, bright yellow to
greenish yellow in color often tipped with red. It blooms during May to
August, and the seeds ripe during July to August. The flowers are unisexual
dioecious, pollinated by bees and flies. The genus Rhodiola possibly
originated in Southwest China and the Himalayas and has its distribution
from the Altai Mountains through Mongolia into many parts of Siberia
(Russia). Different of its species displays a natural distribution in the
mountainous regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in arctic
regions of the world, including Baffin Island to the mountains of North
Carolina, parts of Europe, Scandinavia, Iceland, UK and Ireland. It generally
grows on sea cliffs and on mountains at altitudes up to 2280 m, msl.
R. rosea is very recently discovered in Indian Western Himalayan region
of Leh, the capital of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir State [1]. The plant
has earned its reputation as an adaptogen due to its effectiveness in
increasing physical endurance, longevity, tolerating high altitude sickness,
and in the treatment of depression, fatigue, impotence, and respiratory
infections. Due to extensive medicinal values, natural populations of R.
rosea are endangered, and thus urgent conservation of this herb is needed
[2, 3].
2. Phytochemical profiling
Occurrence of secondary metabolites and bioactive compounds is the
novel features of Rhodiola sp. However, significant species-specific
variation was observed in phytochemistry and pharmacology among
different Rhodiola spp. Therefore, a cautious approach is necessary for
consumers regarding the marketing product. The species composition of
commercial Rhodiola products was recently supervised using DNA
barcoding [4]. A Rhodiola dietary supplement DNA barcode database was
successfully constructed using 82 voucher samples from 10 Rhodiola
species. Based on the DNA barcoding standard operating procedure (SOP),
*Corresponding Author
Email Address: dibyendutalukdar9@gmail.com (D. Talukdar)
not the herb is the end to the search for sanjeevani, the mythical herb
that renewed the life to Lakshman, Lord Rams brother in the epic
Ramayana. Plant leaves are usually used as vegetable by local Ladakhi
tribes. Its therapeutic values are now being explored by researchers of the
Leh-based Defense Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR), DRDO
(Defense Research and Development Organization) in India. Primary
reports suggested that the herb has significant therapeutic and functional
values for the troops posted in high altitude mountainous terrain such as
the 5,400 m (msl) high of the Siachen glacier [1].
3.1.2 China and Mid Asia
R. rosea has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to combat highaltitude sickness. In Mongolia physicians prescribed it for tuberculosis and
cancer. In the Amchi system of medicine (Tibetan system) the herb has
been used as anti-stress, radio-protective, anticancer, anti-inflammatory,
and adaptogenic agent. Tea prepared from its leaves is found the most
effective treatment for cold and flu during severe Mid-Asian winters.
Rhodiola tea is taken as a weight loss aid, immune system supporter, stress
reliever, mood lifter, energy enhancer and memory booster. The effects of
this herbal tea are mainly from the adaptogenic properties of R. rosea
extract. Drinking this herbal beverage every day is said to prevent colds
and flues and also to restore skin tone and maintain a youthful looks.
3.1.3 Europe, Russia and North America
Throughout centuries, R. rosea has been used as an herbal medicine in
Russia and Scandinavia. Various medicinal applications of R. rosea were
published in the scientific literature of Sweden, Norway, France, Germany,
the erstwhile Soviet Union, and Iceland in between 1725 and 1960. R. rosea
was famed as an astringent and for the treatment of hernia, headache,
hysteria, and leucorrhoea by Linneaus [7]. Russian athletes and
cosmonauts were tested for its impact. In Siberian mountain villages, a
bouquet of roots is considered auspicious to pre-marriage couples to
enhance fertility and assure the birth of healthy children [15]. After the
Cold War era, the secret of this magic herb was openly published. In
Russia, R. rosea has been used to treat SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder),
sometimes known as the Winter Blues- which has much influence in the
country due to the long, and dark winters, which detrimentally influence
productivity during this time. Medieval Vikings used this herb to improve
their physical endurance. Pedanius Dioscorides included R. rosea in De
Materia Medica written in 77 A.D. Medicinal values of the herb are also
described in the Swedish Pharmacopoeia published in 1755; and since
1969, it has been included in the official Russian medicine [7]. In Germany,
the use of R. rosea was beneficial in treatment of headache, depression,
pain, scurvy, hemorrhoids, and also used as a stimulant and an antiinflammatory. Its traditional use particularly in managing fatigue and
improving endurance is the foundation of modern clinical and
pharmacological implication of this medicinal herb. The indigenous Inuit
people of Nunavik and Nunatsiavut, Eastern Canada, use R. rosea as a
mental and physical rejuvenating agent [12].
3.2 Modern Clinical and Pharmacological Implications
Studies on isolated organs, tissues, cells and enzymes have revealed that
R. rosea preparations contain phenolic and/or cyanogenic glycosides
which exhibit adaptogenic effect, neuroprotective, cardioprotective, antifatigue, antidepressive, anxiolytic, nootropic, life-span increasing, and
Central Nervous System (CNS) stimulating effects. Interactions with the
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal
(HPA)-system
(Cortisol-Reducing),
protein kinase p-JNK, nitric oxide, and defense mechanism proteins [e.g.
heat shock proteins (Hsp) 70, and the FoxO/Daf-16 family of transcription
factors] are some of the possible mechanisms [10] of pharmacological
effects of R. rosea. Pharmacological formulations of R. rosea are now
available in different forms [16].
3.2.1 R. Rosea: Antioxidant Properties, Oxidative Stress Influences and
Longevity-Promoting Effects
Generation of free radicals is an inevitable event in aerobic organisms
[17-19]. Excess generation of free radicals in the form of reactiove oxygen
species (ROS) may cause severe oxidative stress through redox imbalance
between ROS and antioxidants. Polyphenols in plants are excellent natural
antioxidants [20]. The antioxidant activity of oligomeric proanthocyanidin
from R. rosea L. was investigated in vivo. Results suggested higher free
radical-scavenging activities of plant extracts than vitamin C and
proanthocyanidin significantly enhanced the SOD and GSH-Px activities,
and reduced the MDA content in mice [21]. The SHR-5, a formulation of R.
rosea extract from the Swedish Herbal Institute (SHI), Gothenburg,
Sweden could extend both mean (24% in both sexes) and maximum (16%
in males and 31% in females) life span in Drosophila melanogaster in
Cite this Article as: D. Talukdar, Rhodiola rosea L.: A critical review on biology, medicinal properties and pharmacological manifestations, J. Nat. Prod. Resour. 1(1) (2015) 49.
the silent information regulator 2 (SIR2) proteins, ii) insulin and insulinlike growth factor signaling (IIS), and iii) the target of rapamycin (TOR). In
this experiment, dietary yeast content was reduced to implement DR in
flies. The results revealed that R. rosea extract extended lifespan in both
sexes independent of the yeast content in the diet and the extract also
extended lifespan when the SIR2, IIS, or TOR pathways were genetically
attenuated [35]. In female flies, the expression levels of glycolytic genes,
and dSir2 were down-regulated, and NADH levels were decreased;
whereas, no protection was given to male flies against heat stress. The
plant extract had no effect on the major heat shock protein HSP70 and
actually down-regulated the mitochondrial HSP22 in males, suggesting
some sex-specific differences in response to R. rosea [35]. Gospodaryov et
al. [36] evaluated the effects of rhizome powder on lifespan and agerelated physiological functions of Drosophila melanogaster. The study
suggested that flies which were fed with food supplemented with 5.0
mg/mL and 10.0 mg/mL of R. rosea rhizome powder had a 14% to 17%
higher median lifespan whereas at 30.0 mg/mL, fly lifespan was decreased
by 9% to 12%, - without any reduction in fly fecundity. However, a fair lifespan extension depended on diet compositions with protein-tocarbohydrate ratios less than one, and a long-term dietary
supplementation with R. rosea rhizome is recommended to increase life
span with decreasing food consumption and age-related functional decline
[36]. In mice model, salidroside - the phenylpropanoid glycoside from R.
rosea - prevented the loss of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) due to
oxidative stress [37]. Although salidroside did not prevent the ROS
production it reduced H2O2induced DNA-strand breaks in bone marrow
cells enriched for HSCs. Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) is a
component of the DNA base excision repair pathway which was activated
by salidroside in mouse bone marrow HSCs as well as primary fibroblasts
and human lymphoblasts, affecting HSCs homeostasis and its function
[37]. R. rosea aqueous extract at low concentration extended yeast
chronological lifespan, by preventing protein oxidation under H2O2induced oxidative stress and consequently, increased oxidative stress
resistance of stationary-phase cells in exponentially growing cultures. At
high concentrations, R. rosea extract sensitized yeast cells to stresses and
shortened yeast lifespan, indicating biphasic concentration-responses
[38]. Potential involvement of Msn2/Msn4 and Yap1 regulatory proteins
in realization of R. rosea beneficial effects is suggested under the same
study.
3.2.2 Immunomodulatory Effects, Neuroprotections and Cognitive Biology
Initial clinical and pharmacological formulations revealed stimulating
effects of small and medium doses of plant extracts by lengthening of
swimming time and remaining on vertical perches to the limit of the
abilities of mice. Small doses increased the bioelectrical activity of the
brain, attributable to the direct effects on the brainstem ascending and
descending reticular formation [7]. Medium range doses enhanced the
development of conditioned avoidance reflexes and facilitated learning
based on emotionally positive reinforcement in rats. In contrast, more
sedative effects were noticed in larger doses. Actually, in small and
medium doses, R. rosea stimulated the effects of neurotransmitters like
norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), and nicotinic
cholinergic on the CNS by increasing the permeability of the blood brain
barrier to precursors of DA and 5-HT. Release of NE, 5-TH, and DA in
ascending pathways activates the cerebral cortex and the limbic system.
Consequently, the five cognitive (thinking, analyzing, evaluating,
calculating, and planning) functions of the cerebral cortex and the
attention, learning, and memory functions along with other aspects of
memory as encoding, sorting, storage, and retrieval of the prefrontal and
frontal cortex are enhanced. The neurotransmitter acetylcholine (Ach) in
cholinergic system contributes to memory function via pathways
ascending from the memory storage systems of the limbic system to
various areas of the cerebral cortex (memory retrieval). Acetylcholine
esterase suppresses Ach activity and interferes with memory. R. rosea
reverses this blockade and alleviates some age-related neuronal
dysfunction [7]. Expression of iNOS, pro-inflammatory cytokines in BV2
cells, IL-1 , and TNF- in the kidney and prefrontal cortex of brain in mice
was suppressed by the constituents of R. rosea in a concentrationdependent manner. Regarding neuroprotective activity, the L-glutamateinduced neurotoxicity was suppressed by the treatment with rosin but not
by rosarin. The increased level of phosphorylated MAPK, pJNK, and pp38
due to L-glutamate treatment was reversed by rosin and salidroside
treatment [39].
Certain medicinal plants exhibited remarkable capacity to restore and
enhance cognitive memory functions [40, 41]. R. rosea may also exert
stimulating effects on cognitive memory through resistance to mental and
physical stress [16]. Stress impedes memory functions and, in course of
time, deteriorates memory systems in a complex pathway that involves
Cite this Article as: D. Talukdar, Rhodiola rosea L.: A critical review on biology, medicinal properties and pharmacological manifestations, J. Nat. Prod. Resour. 1(1) (2015) 49.
Cite this Article as: D. Talukdar, Rhodiola rosea L.: A critical review on biology, medicinal properties and pharmacological manifestations, J. Nat. Prod. Resour. 1(1) (2015) 49.
Cite this Article as: D. Talukdar, Rhodiola rosea L.: A critical review on biology, medicinal properties and pharmacological manifestations, J. Nat. Prod. Resour. 1(1) (2015) 49.
Cite this Article as: D. Talukdar, Rhodiola rosea L.: A critical review on biology, medicinal properties and pharmacological manifestations, J. Nat. Prod. Resour. 1(1) (2015) 49.